MANILA, Philippines—Robby Celiz poured all but two of his total points in the fourth period and gave Blackwater a boost to an 86-80 win over Cafe France Thursday in the 2013 PBA D-League Foundation Cup.
Celiz finished with 12 points in just 14 minutes off the bench for the Elite, sparking a run which neutralized an equally-hot spurt by Alvin Abundo in the payoff period at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Kevin Ferrer picked up where he left off last conference as Blackwater’s top guy, leading with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists.
At 6:24 Eric Suguitan gets back with a basket backed up by Celiz down 5:52 with another two, 75-68.
Celiz buried a triple with 5:32 in the payoff period to stretch the Elite’s lead to 78-68, to provide enough cushion for the Bakers’ last ditch rally.
Mike Silungan, who signed up with Cafe France this conference, unleashed a triple to make a cut into the lead, 80-83, but free-throws from Blackwater sealed the win.
Just as head coach Leo Isaac expected, Allan Mangahas did a commendable job as facilitator with a team-best six of the Elite’s 21 assists.
While two from Cafe France contributed at least 20 points, the Bakers fell way short in the assist department with just 10.
Abundo had 22 markers while Raymond Maconocido added 21. Cafe France’s starters, though, barely made a mark combing for only 16 points.